


origami hearts

by donutcats



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: F/F, Kippen Siblings, M/M, background tyrus, bisexual amber
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 06:27:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17893232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donutcats/pseuds/donutcats
Summary: “Amb, you can like both of them. I’m going to tell you this because I actually care about you, and because I really want to get back to trying to fish in animal crossing, but. You have gay type of feelings for Andi. And you also have feelings for boys.”





	origami hearts

**Author's Note:**

> I had the sudden urge to write about amber after 3x12, and this is the result. it started as just, a general amber fic and very quickly turned into ambi. I'm not sorry. I wrote this all in like 3ish hours and it's currently 3:30am, and I've proofread it like twice so I'm sorry if some bits feel rushed. I'll probably end up editing bits and pieces in the morning when I reread it fully rested but until then! enjoy this raw version of it lmao 
> 
> (most if not all opinions and views on being bi are my own personal thoughts and realizations. I had this burst of inspiration after ranting to a friend about bi amber)

“So, you know Jonah?”

“Yeah.” 

“I kissed him.”

“Good for you?”

“This is a big deal!” 

“Is it?”

Amber groans, loudly and obnoxiously, slicing her hands through the air for emphasis. “Yes, yes it is! Because, we’re not together!”

“So, you kissed him, but it’s not ok, because you aren’t dating?”

“Exactly! Or, well. It’s more complicated than that.”

Tj sighs and shifts around, trying to get comfortable as he listens to his sister complain. Somehow he ended up on the floor, and Amber got the prime real estate of his bed. He blames the fact that he took his eyes off of his bed for a second too long while his door was open. That was the biggest mistake, forgetting to close his door, knowing Amber was both in a mood and home.

Deciding enough is enough, the time to take back what’s his is now, Tj clambers into bed, purposely knocking his knees into her legs and planting a hand on her stomach for leverage. He situates himself against the wall, his legs stretching out over her own. “When you came in crying that you had a problem, I really thought it was a Problem problem and not some boy drama. I have enough of that myself.”

Kicking out at him, Amber doesn’t cede any ground, just situates their legs into something more comfortable for both of them. She lets the quiet stretch on, so Tj refocuses on his 3ds, holding the stylus between his teeth while he taps at the screen with a finger. When he finally realizes he’s being an idiot and that he should really use the stylus, Amber begins talking.

“I’ve always liked Jonah. Like, he’s always been really sweet and always understanding, even when I would totally use that to my advantage so I could lie and maybe sort of manipulate him. I actually really understand that maybe us dating wasn’t a great idea and-”

“Wait, you dated Jonah?”

“Yeah? How did you not know this?”

“Because I barely pay attention to you outside of our house.”

Amber blinks, and then shrugs. “Ok, valid. But yeah, we dated for like a hot second but then we broke up. It was totally a mutual thing.”

“So he broke up with you.”

“Shut up.” She kicks him again, bare foot connecting fully with his shin, so he reaches out and does the only sensible thing. Pinches the skin of her knee.

After some more very mature kicking from the both of them, Amber lays back down again, huffing and fanning her hair out on the mattress, around her face. “He was just really nice when he didn’t have to be and I kinda have always loved that about him. So like, I’m totally into Jonah. That crush I swore I had on Andi? It’s gone. Just, gone. Because I kissed Jonah.”

By the end of the statement, Amber’s voice has lowered itself to a quiet tone, and her fingers knot together in the fabric of her tshirt.

Closing his 3ds, Tj scoots a little closer, trying his best to keep the pretzel of their legs still in tact. He won’t admit out loud but however Amber managed to arrange their limbs every time actually is comfortable. “You can’t like Andi, because you like Jonah? Amber,” he kind of just lets his voice trail off after her name, because he doesn’t know what to say, really.

“Exactly. My crush on Andi was like. Super strong friendship feelings. Because I’ve never really had friends that were girls before, and Iris doesn’t count. Not really. I kind of knew her for so long that she was just grandfathered into my emotions. But, Andi is new. Which means new feelings and new nerves and new wanting to impress her.”

Her voice wobbles a bit, and now Tj kind of gets why Amber came to him about this problem. It’s a ‘I’m confused about feelings Tj, and you like, know about feelings and stuff now’ problem.

“Amb, you can like both of them. I’m going to tell you this because I actually care about you, and because I really want to get back to trying to fish in animal crossing, but. You have gay type of feelings for Andi. And you also have feelings for boys.”

“I’m not Bisexual.” She sits up as she says it, smoothing out the edge of her shirt. “I can’t be, you know? Andi’s like, the only girl I’ve felt like this towards. The only one. That’s not a statistic, that’s like. A fluke, for something. A glitch in the Matrix. These are feelings I get around boys. So many boys. Andi’s not a crush, she’s just. _Andi_.”

“She’s the only girl you’ve crushed on _so far_.”

“What if there’s no more after her? What if I end up just. Faking this whole bisexual thing because I’m confusing my feelings for her with normal friend feelings. What if she really is just a friend.”

Tj chews at his bottom lip for a moment, watching as Amber combs her fingers through her hair, as she absently braids it. They’re quiet, again. Which means this is actually a serious thing, that deserves serious silences as Amber thinks.

“I can’t really help you. Not in the way you probably were expecting.” He shrugs when she looks at him, her eyebrows already scrunching together. “I’m super gay, but I didn’t really have like, identity issues. I just kind of knew and I’d talk about cute boys in third grade, and Mom was always so cool about it that I never questioned it. I guess, the only ‘Gay Advice’,” Tj does the air quotes with his fingers, which makes Amber smile, “I can give you, is that like, you have fuzzy gay emotions when it comes to Andi and you shouldn’t ignore that because you don’t think they’re valid. Assflash newshole, all feelings are valid.”

Amber pats at her eyes to get rid of any little tears that might have started to show themselves. “Someone’s been spending way too much time with their therapist boyfriend. ‘All feelings are valid’, is that really you Tj?” She climbs off the bed, flicking his ear as she goes.

Tj flips open his 3ds, falling to his side so he can properly lay in his bed. “You know me, always glad to be of help.”

“Never wink at me again, it skeeves me out.”

“Never say the word skeeves again, you sound eighty years old.”

 

\---

 

“Are you sure they aren’t just platonic feelings?”

Tj is silent for a second, making a show of thinking. “Positive. If you have nothing but happy friend vibes for Andi, then I have the same for Cyrus.”

“The folder titled Heart Eyes Kippen on my phone begs to differ.”

“What’s that thing Mom says a lot? Oh, pot, meet kettle.”

“Doesn’t that stand for something longer?” Amber glances at her phone, for the fifth time in so many minutes. She knows she’s being a bit obsessive, and maybe this is proving Tj’s point, but. She just really wants Andi to text her back.

“Google says it’s short for ‘pot calling the kettle black’. Basically it’s a long winded way of saying Same.”

“I feel like it means a lot more than same, but I really don’t care enough right now to correct you.”

“You’re too busy worrying over your gay feelings.” Tj practically cackles at the look she sends him, but she zeros in on his own phone, which is clutched in his hand and she can make out what looks to be Cyrus’ contact on the screen; ** _Cy 💚💚_**

“Hello, pot.” She smirks, and he almost drops his phone while trying to lock it.

Before he has a chance to say anything, Amber’s phone pings. She scrambles to open the message, which just makes Tj laugh again.

 **Mother ship** ****  
**> I’m going to be home a little late from work, I’m sorry!! I’m picking up dinner so just let me know what you want ** ****  
**> Love you !! 💗💕💖💝  
**  
  
“It’s just mom.”

“Mom would be thrilled to hear how depressed you sound over the love hearts she sends you.”

“Do you think she’s ignoring me?” Amber completely ignores Tj, pulling her legs closer and curling up into the corner of the couch.

Tj taps the edge of his phone against the armrest of the couch. “Want me to ask Cy? I bet he’ll give me the deets.”

“What have I said about using the word deets. It’s as bad as when you say LOL out loud.”

Sighing, Amber tucks her phone away, grabbing the remote so she can mindlessly flick through the channels and try to find something that will maybe make her feel better. She doesn’t know why she’s obsessing over talking to Andi all of a sudden.

Maybe it’s the sudden idea that yeah ok maybe she really does have Gay Feelings for a certain girl. Maybe she wants to talk to Andi, just spend time with Andi, to test this theory. Andi is making it really hard, though.

She could talk to Jonah. Except, things have been a little awkward between them since the kiss. It’s only been a handful of days, but it still feels a bit stilted whenever they try to text each other. When they try to go back to Before, when they were friends. Before the kiss that just felt like the right thing to do at the moment, but they both kind of laughed it off afterwards, because Amber _does_ like Jonah, but after the kiss it didn’t really feel so right anymore. Before Jonah apologized and explained he was kind of sort of seeing a really sweet girl.

Which like, Amber totally gets. No really, she does. It was super unplanned and it’s not like she was expecting Jonah to drop everything after one kiss and realize she’s a totally changed person that deserves his level of sunshine personality on her directly 24/7.

And maybe she can objectively see that maybe she doesn’t want her relationship with Jonah back, but more like she just wants an explanation for these things she can’t really categorize and ok maybe Jonah was just. The easiest person to plaster those feelings on. Because he’s familiar and easy to talk to.

So she kicks at Tj’s leg. “Sure, I guess. Ask Cyrus what I did wrong, and maybe how I can fix it. But not like, directly. Work up to it, you know. Be discreet so I don’t seem like a total loser.”

“Yeah, ‘course.” Tj unlocks his phone, and then presses a thumb to his screen. “Hey Cy, Amber wants to know why Andi is ignoring her texts because she just really wants to talk and she’s being all depressed about- Amber get off me! Stop hitting me, you asked me to ask him! Cyrus help!”

Stretching halfway off the couch, his long arms keeping the phone out of reach even as Amber tries to crawl half way up his body, Tj manages to send the voice message.

“I said be discreet! You’re the worst! What if he plays it and Andi hears it? Did you even think of that you fucking doorknob?”

“I’m a doorknob? Real creative insult. Do better next time- Ow!”

He lands with a thump on the floor, blanket tangled in his legs. Amber’s pretty proud of herself and that shove. It had a lot of oomph behind it. “If Andi never speaks to me again, I’ll never forgive you.”

“Add it to the long list of things you’ll never forgive me for.”

“It’s not that long!”

“You’ve been adding to it since you were five!”

“You broke my Barbie Dream Camper!”

Grumbling, Tj pulls himself back onto the couch. “I was _four_.”

“Every list has to start somewhere.”

 

\---

 

The worst part of working at the Spoon, was the weird quiet stretches of time where there were hardly any patrons, which meant hardly anything to do. Amber sits herself in the very back booth, the rounded one that so many kids begged their parents to sit at because, hello, curved seating. It’s the peak of coolness to anyone between the ages of six and. Actually Amber isn’t sure when the cap is, because she’s fifteen and round back booths are still weirdly cool to her.

She’s refilling napkin dispensers when the door chimes, and in walks Andi and her friends. Plus Tj. Amber actually doesn’t know where Tj stands in their weird friend group, all she knows is that he’s attached to Cyrus and that must be good enough for the others. There’s a moment where Cyrus seems to almost push at Andi, and then he’s slipping into a booth near the front windows, pressing impossibly close to Tj, as Tj slings an arm around his shoulders.

After the disaster of Tj asking Cyrus about Andi last night, Cyrus had actually texted her, instead of replying to Tj. Amber felt way too victorious at Tj’s little pout.

 

 **Cyrus** ****  
**> Andi’s not ignoring you because she’s mad.** ****  
**> Trust me on this.** **  
** **> She’s just, thinking through some things.**

 _Amber_  
_ <this is about the jonah thing isnt it _  
_ <she somehow found out _  
  
**Cyrus** ****  
**> well** ****  
**> we kind of saw you and jonah on a bench at the park** ****  
**> 😘**  
  
_Amber_  
_ <it’s a lot more complicated than kissy park faces :/ _  
_ <if she’s not mad then what’s she thinking over?? _  
_< is she upset that it was jonah??_  
  
**Cyrus** ****  
**> you should probably talk about this with Andi** ****  
**> she already asked Jonah about it ‘cause last we heard he was still w/ Libby** ****  
**> & Andi didn’t want Libby getting hurt by whatever 😘 was** ****  
**> so she wanted to know what Jonah had to say and he basically said nothing was really going on with you ** **  
** **> so you don’t really need to worry about the misunderstandings part of the program. you can skip past it **

_Amber_  
_ <i have more questions than ansswers now _  
<IM SO CONFUSED  
_< cY-BREAD I CANT HANDLE THIS   
_< _I WAN MY FRIEND BACL_

 **Cy-bread 🍞**  
**> Cy-bread?? lmao ** ****  
**> just talk to her!!! I keep telling her to talk to you but she’s Worried and Fretting ** ****  
**> after school I’ll bring her by the Spoon so you can work this out because as a bystander it’s killing me inside ** **  
** **> You know, I kind of hate being a therapist to you all.**

 _Amber_  
_< yeh like rye bread but cuter since it’s you_  
_<....._  
  
**Cy-bread 🍞** **  
** **>!!!! <3 stop being sweet!!! it’ll ruin your reputation ****  
** **> ok you’re right it’s like crack to me**  
  
_Amber_  
_< plus what would tj say_  
_< trying to steal his mans _  
_< ok i’ll see u at the spoon!!! thank you bread man_  
_< I’m still confused on why Andi’s all worried when im the one who broke girl code but im gonna trust you _  
_< my little loaf _  
  
**Cy-bread 🍞** **  
** **> aSHAFJAFHSJ;GJ  
** **> cEASE AND DESIST  
** **> enOUGH WITH THE VREAD **  
  
_Amber_  
_< me @tj: come get ur mans he’s a blushing mess_  
  
**Cy-bread 🍞** **  
****> Hi I’m Blocking You**

 _Amber_  
_ <hello Blocking You _ _  
<im amber :3c_

 

Amber is snapped out of remembering the texts by Andi and Buffy both sitting across from her. Andi scoots a little further in, so she’s more in the curve of the booth, while Buffy stays near the end.  

 

"Hi!" Amber greets both girls. Buffy's probably there for emotional support or something. The three of them are always doing that, Amber's realized. Tagging along for reassurance. 

"Hi." Andi responds. Buffy gives a little wave. She tries to bump Andi's shoulder, but Andi sends her a silent look that has Buffy rolling her eyes.

“Cyrus says we need to talk, and since he was my unofficial psychologist I’m like, honor bound to listen to him when it comes to my problems.” Amber decides to just go for it, because Andi is just sitting there, starting in on a napkin like it’s origami paper.

Andi nods, fingers continuing to fold and smooth. “He said the same thing to me. But, he wasn’t my psychologist.” She says it with a smile, in that very Andi like way of hers. “But he is my best friend, so I’m kind of honor bound too.”  

Maybe Tj is right. He’ll never hear those words ever come out of her mouth. But maybe he has a point. Maybe these feelings aren’t strictly platonic. Because Andi’s just sitting there, hair pinned out of her face by two little star shaped barrettes, and the sunlight coming from the completely glass front door halos her a bit. Amber’s fingers tingle, in that way where she really just wants to reach out and hold someone’s hand. She used to get like this with Jonah, in those rare moments where they felt like something real.

This feels real. So she slides a little closer to Andi, pushing a napkin dispenser out of the way. “I don’t know what I did to make you not want to talk to me, or message me back. But, I’m sorry. My mom always told me to never apologize unless I know what I’m sorry for, but I’m still sorry Andi. Because, I’ve kind of been a real bitch to you, yet you still wanted to be my friend. And, I don’t want to ruin that, like at all. Ever.”

“Well, that’s my cue to go.” Buffy stands up, giving Andi a small salute before heading over to where Cyrus and Tj are sitting. Glancing over, Amber almost rolls her eyes at the two of them. Tj is actually just, feeding Cyrus baby taters. In public. With those doppy grins on both of their faces. Buffy sits across from them, next to Jonah, and she makes a show of gagging as Cyrus laughs harder and Tj tries to throw a straw at her.

 

 **Amber** **  
** **> Right in front of my salad**

 _Gremlin 🏀🌈_  
_< sHUT UPPPP _  
_< LEAVE MY ASS OLONE _  
_ <im_ _in_ _lov_  
_< bitch_

 

“Sorry. Again.” Amber puts her phone back onto the table. “I just had to roast Tj.”

Andi shrugs, turning away from also looking towards her friends. “Completely understandable. If Cyrus was paying attention to literally anything else, I’d drag him too.”

They both burst out laughing at that, leaning close enough to knock shoulders. After the laughter has subsided, Andi goes back to her napkin, continuing to smooth out every fold she makes.

“I wasn’t mad at you, Amber, and I wasn’t ignoring you because I was upset. I was kind of thinking, about some things. I wanted to talk to you but I just didn’t think we were close enough for me to give you the normal 20 question treatment I give everyone else.”

She didn’t think they were close enough? Oh. Ouch. Ok.

“Like, if it was Cyrus or Buffy, I probably would have rushed over to that bench and dragged them away, demanding answers. But it was you, and Jonah. And, I was confused, and surprised, but I felt like I couldn’t do that to you. You probably wouldn’t appreciate thirty messages from me wanting you to explain it, even though you don’t owe me anything. I realized I could ask Jonah instead. I could keep asking until he answered.” She shrugs again. “So I did. Then I felt kind of dumb jumping to conclusions.”

“Andi,” Amber moves even closer, laying a hand on Andi’s arm. She wanted to go for her hand, Amber really did. Her fingers still tingle, and Andi is wearing all those rings which for some reason seem very appealing to Amber. But she doesn’t because she doesn’t want to bother whatever Andi is working on. “I owe you a lot. You were my friend when no one else really wanted to be and you keep giving me chances. And the whole kissy park faces thing, there really wasn’t any other conclusion you could jump to so don’t feel bad.”

“Kissy park faces?” Andi giggles, turning to face Amber. “Is that what you call it?”

“Blame Cyrus.” Amber can’t help but giggle too, because it’s infectious. Because Andi is smiling at her and they’re talking and it’s not awkward. Not how Amber was expecting. “For what it’s worth, I consider us close enough. You can spam me as many questions or messages or emojis as you want.”

Andi holds out the folded napkin, still smiling. “We are now, officially, super close.” It’s a napkin crane, a little droopy at the edges where the material of the napkin can’t hold up the way actual origami paper would, but Amber takes it anyways.

“I love it.” Amber lets her hand slip down and rest on Andi’s hand, now that it’s empty and still.

“Yeah, me too.” Andi folds their palms together, and Amber is kind of mad Tj was right. But she’s mostly over the moon right now.

 

\---

 

“Hey,” Amber sits up from where she was laying on the little bed in Andi Shack, brushing a hanging paper crane out of her face, “what was that thing you were thinking over, when you weren’t texting me back?”

It’s been about a week since their talk at the Spoon, and Amber sometimes still thinks about how Andi never really explained why she went those two days without answering any of Amber’s texts.

They’ve hung out a few times since the Spoon, and Andi even started inviting Amber to her little crafting house afterwards. Which Amber likes to think means Andi trusts her because according to Cyrus, Andi Shack is like a super important thing to her.

Andi manages to drop a mason jar filled with large beads at those words, eyes a bit wide and staring straight at Amber, before the realization hits her and she’s falling to her knees to pick them all up. Amber scrambles off the bed to join her, gathering up handfuls of the colorful things.

They spend the next minute or two chasing after the beads, making sure they didn’t roll into any of the multiple crevices of Andi Shack. Andi sits with the jar in her lap, fingers twisting around the glass. “I was just. Thinking.”

“You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.” Amber knows that there’s some things you just don’t want to talk about. Sometimes you need to keep some things to yourself. It’s how she felt when her parents were fighting, when her and Tj would pretend like they didn’t hear it. When she knew her Mom wanted to file for divorce but she never mentioned it to Tj because it felt like something she just didn’t want to say out loud.

“No, it’s ok. You deserve to know, and I think I’m ready to tell you.” Andi pushes her bangs out of her face, and without really thinking, Amber automatically reaches forward, snapping one of her own simple barrettes into Andi’s hair. “Oh, thank you.” Andi smiles, that small sweet tilt of her lips that Amber kind of really loves. She likes to privately call it the Amber Smile, because as far as Amber knows she’s never seen her smile like that at anyone else.

“No problem.”

“So, uhm. Right.” Andi sets the mason jar up on the table, but she doesn’t get up from the floor. Instead, she rearranges her legs, making herself more comfortable, so Amber does the same. “When I saw you and Jonah on that bench, it felt really weird. Like, my stomach was a snowglobe and a very enthusiastic kid was shaking it all up!” Andi demonstrates by shaking a pretend snowglobe around. “But, I didn’t know why I felt like that. So, I mentioned it to Buffy and Cyrus, and. Well, they told me I was probably feeling jealous. Which was weird, because I haven’t felt anything like that towards Jonah in awhile. We’re friends, and we were always happier as friends.” Andi pulls into herself a bit, her hand moving up to fidget with the barrette in her hair.

“I think I was jealous _of_ Jonah.”

“Oh.”

_Oh._

Well. Isn’t that. Something.

“You texted me and I kept making myself into a panicky mess because. How was I supposed to talk to you now knowing that I wanted to tack on a heart emoji to everything I said and mean it. Or go out with you but have it mean more than picking up lobster rolls from a food truck as friends.”

“Wait, are you serious?”

Andi scrunches up her face, nodding. “You can leave if you want. I know this is probably weird now-”

“I could have been going out on dates with you instead of worrying if you were ignoring me while eating pizza rolls at home? Really Andi?” Amber crawls forward, already wrapping an arm around Andi before she’s settled in front of her. “I could have been feeding you those pizza rolls instead! We could have totally been out-coupling Cyrus and Tj by now!”

“Pizza rolls?” Andi asks, almost automatically, looking a little dazed by how close Amber is.

“Everyone loves pizza rolls.”

Andi’s smile is back, a laugh tumbling out of her as she presses her face against Amber’s, her mouth messily laying a kiss onto Amber’s cheek. There’s a bubble of happiness filled to bursting in her chest, and Andi’s pressing even closer until they’re both tumbling back onto the floor.

“Does this mean I get to hold your hand now?” Amber has to ask, she just has to, and Andi’s nodding before she can even finish her sentence.


End file.
